Current Status
Despite opposition from Tribes and environmental groups, on May 3, 2021, the Army Corps of Engineers announced it would keep the pipeline operational while preparing a court-ordered environmental impact statement (EIS). The pipeline still lacks a key permit from the Corps to cross under Lake Oahe in South Dakota. The Corps issued a draft EIS analyzing the impacts of issuing that permit on Sep. 8, 2023, and plans to issue the final EIS in 2025.
Why it Matters
On April 29, 1868, the U.S. government and the Sioux Nation signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie, revising the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 (Horse Creek Treaty). The Treaty required the Sioux Nation to abandon thousands of acres of land guaranteed under previous treaties, though the Tribes retained hunting and fishing rights in those lands. The Treaty also established the Great Sioux Reservation “for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation” of the Sioux Nation (Art. II). The reservation’s boundaries include significant portions of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) current location.
DAPL was built by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) to transport crude oil from the Bakken field in North Dakota to Illinois. The pipeline crosses under the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and Lake Oahe, and runs within a half-mile of the current boundaries of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, through land taken from the Tribe by Congress in 1958. The DAPL also runs through important cultural and burial sites for Standing Rock and other Tribal nations.
Most of the DAPL was permitted and built under state law. However, the federal government, acting through the Army Corps of Engineers, has authority over 37 miles of the 1100-mile pipeline, where the pipeline passes over or under streams, rivers, and federal dams. The Standing Rock Sioux, other Tribes, and environmental groups oppose the pipeline because of the greenhouse gas emissions from oil that it carries, and concerns that a spill would contaminate state and tribal drinking water.
This page does not include state litigation regarding the use of eminent domain to acquire easements for the pipeline’s construction.
Key Resources
- CleanLaw Podcast Quick Take: Dakota Access Pipeline update with Hannah Perls and Carrie Jenks
Timeline
Oct. 14, 2024 The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps alleging the continued operation of the pipeline without the necessary easement violates NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act, and other laws. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps Engineers, et al., No. 1:24-cv-02905 (D.D.C.).
Sep. 8, 2023 The Army Corps released its draft EIS analyzing the impacts of issuing an easement under Lake Oahe for Dakota Access, LLC, under the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA). The agency assessed five possible alternatives in addition to the no action alternative, including denying the easement and requiring restoration to pre-pipeline conditions. The Army Corps did not select a preferred alternative, but will do so in the Final EIS after considering public comment, which is expected in 2025.
Jan. 27, 2022 The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe withdrew as a cooperating agency in the Army Corps’ preparation of the EIS, citing transparency concerns.
July 23, 2021 The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a notice of probable violation (NOPV) to Energy Transfer LP, stating the company could face $93,200 in fines for several probable violations of federal law in operating the pipeline.
May 3, 2021 The Biden Army Corps said in a court filing that it plans to complete a court-ordered EIS evaluating the risk of spills from Dakota Access, but that it will allow oil to continue to flow in the meantime. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps, No. 1:16-cv-01534 (D.D.C.).
Jan. 26, 2021 The D.C. Circuit reaffirmed the district court’s decision finding the Army Corps of Engineers violated NEPA by issuing an easement for the pipeline to cross federal lands without preparing an environmental impact statement and directing the Corps to prepare an EIS. However, the court reversed the lower court’s order that the pipeline shut down because it had not made the findings necessary to issue an injunction. The court leaves it to the Corps to determine how to “vindicate its property rights” as the pipeline no longer has an easement and is therefore encroaching on federal property. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps of Engineers, D.C. Cir., No. 20-5197 (D.C. Cir.). On Feb. 22, 2022, the Supreme Court issued an order denying a petition for writ of certiorari to review the D.C. Circuit’s decision. Dakota Access LLC v. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, No. 21-560 (US).
Sep. 10, 2020 The Army Corps published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement regarding the granting of an easement to Dakota Access to cross federal land at Lake Oahe.
March 25, 2020 The District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers’ Aug. 31, 2018 NEPA analysis did not fully address how the pipeline affects the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and others near its route and ordered the agency to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The pipeline is allowed to continue operating while the Corps prepares the EIS. On July 6, 2020, the court vacated the Army Corps’ decision to grant an easement for the pipeline and ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline be drained of oil and shut down within 30 days, and remain shut down until the Corps completes a full Environmental Impact Statement. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps, No. 1:16-cv-01534 (D.D.C.). However, on July 14, 2020, the D.C. Circuit granted an administrative stay of the district court’s July 6 order, and on Aug. 5, 2020, stayed the district court’s injunction, finding that the court did not make the findings necessary to issue injunctive relief. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps, No. 20-5197 (D.C. Cir.).
Feb. 19, 2020 The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Dakota Access, LLC’s request for a permit to site a pump station in Emmons County, nearly doubling DAPL’s maximum capacity from 600,000 barrels per day to 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day. Dakota Access, LLC, Dakota Access Pipeline Pump Station – Emmons County, Siting Application, Case No. PU-19-204.
June 14, 2017 The District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Corps failed to adequately consider the impacts of an oil spill on fishing rights, hunting rights, or environmental justice, and required the Corps to reconsider those sections of its environmental analysis. However, the court refused to delay operation of the pipeline. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. Army Corps, No. 16-01534 (D.D.C.). On Aug. 31, 2018, the Corps concluded its court-ordered NEPA analysis and found the agency doesn’t need to revisit its 2016 approval of the now-operating project.
Jan. 24, 2017 President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum, directing the Army Corps to “review and approve in an expedited manner” the DAPL easement. Two weeks later, on Feb. 7, the Army Corps rescinded the January 18, 2017 notice of intent to conduct a full environmental review, and on Feb. 8, the Corps approved the easement under Lake Oahe.
Dec. 4, 2016 The Army Corps of Engineers denied an easement that would allow the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe pending further review, effectively halting work on the pipeline. On Jan. 18, 2017, the Army Corps announced plans to conduct a comprehensive environmental review of the DAPL project.
Sep. 9, 2016 The District Court for the District of Columbia rejected Tribes’ request for an emergency stay and ruled that the Army Corps is not required to conduct an environmental review of the entire pipeline because most of the project is constructed on private land. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, et al. v. Army Corps of Engineers, et al., No. 16-01534 (D.D.C.). The same day, the Justice and Interior Departments and Army ordered the U.S. Army Corps to halt construction near Lake Oahe until further environmental assessments are conducted. On Oct. 9, the D.C. Circuit rejected the Tribe’s appeal.
July 26, 2016 The Army Corps of Engineers approved federal easements (including across Lake Oahe) for DAPL after determining the project would not have a significant impact on the environment and issuing a mitigated finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
Nov. 2015 Dakota Access, LLC submitted a draft environmental assessment to the Army Corps rejecting the original proposed pipeline route, which would have crossed the Missouri River 10 miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota. The amended route would cross under Lake Oahe south of Bismarck and one half-mile upstream of the current boundaries of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.
Sep. 2, 2015 The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council adopted Resolution 406-15 stating that “the Dakota Access Pipeline threatens public health and welfare on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation” and the “horizontal direction drilling in the construction of the pipeline would destroy valuable cultural resources.”
